Customer Reviews

The C-A-G-E-D Guitar System Made Easy, Vol. 1 2 and 3

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ernie Hawkins is a great teacher. He is passionate and knows how to communicate to his students. The material presented here is vital for the knowledge of the guitar, and Ernie pleads with the student to follow instructions, stay with it, and methodically learn what it presented.

As to Homespun, you get the great camera angles and excellence in production.

This is not a DVD to learn songs, but rather a system to learn the fretbord. If viewed as serious guitar lessons (which even the post beginner can work with) you will find these to be months of invaluable work. If you are looking to learn a song, you will be disappointed. This is work.

Homespun has lots of great DVDs to teach songs, of which I love and own, but these are the type of DVDs (along with some of Pete Huttlinger's) that are necessary for someone serious about learning the guitar.

Take your time. Go slowly. This is a tremendous bargain to get all 3. For the cost, you will be supplied with months of weekly lessons. Take notes. Measure your progress.

This is a 5 Star set, along with so much else from Homespun. Enjoy and learn.

I'm a recreational guitarist that's played for over 20 years. As a self-taught player, I've managed to learn a lot by listening and repeating the play of others, but have always felt a gaping hole in my overall knowledge of technique and theory. I've been trying to backfill some of those gaps by pursuing lessons like the ones offered in this CAGED program.

I think this series of DVDs will similarly appeal to other guitarists like me - ones looking to supplement their self-instruction with some good core fundamentals. While I already had a basic knowledge of the CAGED system and the relationship between these chord forms to move within a key up the fretboard, I never had it thoroughly explained or demonstrated to me. Ernie Hawkin's instruction is clear and patient, and he encourages the viewer to stick with some of the initial exercises that outline the CAGED fundamentals, in exchange for what becomes a great payoff in some of the later lessons.

From the very first lesson, I immediately I found myself connecting the missing pieces of information that had escaped me in the past. Further, Ernie introduces some basics of music theory that allow the viewer to better understand the relationship of the notes in building the chords that they create. He explains, and then plays, and then explains and plays again. The viewer gets a chance to actually hear what the relationships sound like, and the new information is given time to sink in. For example, By clearly identifying and learning the locations of the critical 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes in each of the CAGED chord forms, Hawkins teaches how to establish the visual landmarks that will allow you to travel with confidence through chords, scales, and arpeggios all the way up and down the fretboard. He also explains some basic techniques to add flavor to a chord progression, like sliding from a minor third into a 3rd note, or when adding a 6th or 7th to a chord sounds good, etc. The construction of passing chords, turnarounds, and tonal relationships all start to become quite clear.

Armed with this new grasp of the "roadmap" of the fretboard and a better understanding of these tonal relationships, I'm locating these notes confidently and timing them properly in a manner that's becoming second nature. No longer am I relying solely on feel or dumb luck instead of musicianship and knowledge. While I still have a long way to progress in my mastery of this technique, it's already paying rewards within the first week. I think these videos will remain a vital part of my instruction library, and I can see myself referring back to these lessons again and again over the years.

While Hawkin's forte is fingerpicking and acoustic blues, this CAGED system is applicable to any style of music. While I don't think this series of DVDs would be the right choice for an absolute beginner that's just learning to form chords, I think that anyone who can quickly and comfortably finger the C, A, G, E, and D chords and play along with a song at tempo, and has a basic ability to play Barre chords (or at least understand how they work) would benefit greatly from this instructional.

Thanks to Homespun and Ernie Hawkins for a great lesson on these key fundamentals that will unlock new doors in my guitar progress.

easy to follow, systematic and comprehensive course. Ernie Hawkins is a great teacher and here you get a comprehensive package of essential guitar tuition for a fraction of the price you would have to pay if you took lessons. very practical with lots of good tips and detail. thank you Ernie.

I have played rhythm guitar for over 30 years, including performing professionally. I can unreservedly say that Ernie Hawkins has put together an excellent product in the C-A-G-E-D Guitar System.

I do recommend it for both beginners and intermediate guitar players. It will help you enormously.

This is a 3 DVD series. CAGED is a relatively new concept in guitar fingerboard artistry and Ernie Hawkins is one of the top instructors in this method. Any guitarist who is not already an advanced player or professional can benefit greatly by
this method. And everyone who has tried it agrees.

Ralph